Like the biggest game of Jenga

     Steven and I are feeling a huge boost of confidence as DIY home renovators! Remember that "next hurdle" that I mentioned in the last post? Well, just a couple weeks ago we finished taking out a chimney and then patched the roof ourselves. We chipped away at the fireplace and chimney on and off over the course of several weeks, but most of the work you'll see below was done over one weekend.

A Rotten Situation

     Nothing like a good ol' notice of cancellation letter from your homeowners insurance company to get you going. We got one of these not quite a month ago saying that our coverage would be terminated unless certain conditions were met, namely Nationwide didn't like the fact that our house was in a state of "extensive renovation" and we had no estimated finish date. VERY luckily for us, this list of conditions has been narrowed down to having an approved floor in our kitchen/dining space... still wondering how our agent pulled that off.

Burglar? Nope just Steven being stupid

It has been a while since either of us has posted. So I thought I would do it since I have been in the thick of it. Our insurance company has been breathing down our necks to get the flooring finished in the dining room. Not that there is anything wrong with what is there now but they have threatened to cancel our coverage over it. WE HATES NATIONWIDE! Upon removing the floor I notice something odd about the wall and remove the panel to find the post holding up a steel girder with a corner degraded by either rot or termites. YAY! I will be posting the removal and replacement process because I am sure that will be entertaining.

However, this post is not about floors or structural framing. No No. This post is about how Steven (me) is a dumbass and the repairs that needed to be made after.

Treasures in the attic

Writing is not my forte, but Mary Lee has been dogging me to write on the blog. I guarantee that the grammar will most certainly be checked and edited by the little lady before it ever shows up on the page. Two weeks ago, we had the insulation company blow a foot-thick layer of insulation into our attic. However, before that could happen, I needed to clean the gunk that was up there. Little did I know, the attic was filled with many years of nesting material from both birds and squirrels. In total, I removed four garbage bags full of nesting materials, ten bird skulls, a bird rib cage, and two squirrel skulls.

Lead paint and attic and mortgage drama - oh my!

     We closed on our house July 18th, but just this week we were told that the bank's investor will not buy our mortgage until a lead paint issue is resolved. This is the same lead paint issue that almost prevented us from closing, but, for whatever reason, the mortgage company let us go ahead with closing... From our experience and for a number of reasons, we do not recommend Mortgage America to anyone. Also, our contractor cannot be paid for his work (which is almost complete) until our mortgage is bought. Remember, we have a 203(k) rehabilitation loan, so this contracted work is added to the amount of our loan, and it is not our responsibility to pay the contractor directly.

Good news and bad

     Seems like most people prefer to hear the bad news first, so here goes... My bike was stolen from our garage earlier this week. Some workers have been here to install the AC upstairs, so we suspect that they left the garage doors open and unattended for just long enough for it to get swiped.
     On the bright side, the AC installation is complete, and we have discovered that our dishwasher does work after all! We had been told by the previous owner and the inspector that it did not work, but it was just a matter of flipping the breaker. Good job, Steven! Now maybe we will get back to cooking and stop eating out all the time ;)

Weekend update

     About half an hour after posting my last write-up, we had a pretty severe thunderstorm that knocked the power out. This storm was so LOUD... the thunder was one thing, but we also got pummeled with limbs and walnuts from the tree that's right beside our bedroom.

Walnut carnage...

Of fleas and floors

     Finally taking the plunge into the world of blogging so that we can share our progress with loved ones and stay motivated to keep up the good work!
     Steven, Lily, and I have been staying in the house since July 24, but our move from the apartment wasn't officially complete until this past Sunday (31st). Our first night in the house was completely horrible... Just as we were getting our bedroom somewhat set up, I discovered that there were fleas everywhere!